IMAGE: India's Hima Das finishes well ahead of the field in Heat 1 of the women's 400m semi-finals on Day 2 of the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Thursday. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for IAAF

Hima Das became the first Indian woman to win gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Tempere, Finland, on Thursday.

Das is the first Indian track athlete to win a medal in the history of this competition.

The 18-year-old, a pre-event favourite, won the women's 400 metres final on the third day of competition in Tempere, clocking 51.46 seconds.

She now joins the illustrious company of star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won gold in Poland in the last edition of the championships in 2016 with a World record effort.

The previous medal winners at the World Junior Championships are Seema Punia (bronze in discus in 2002) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze in discus in 2014).